Riding the pine pony didn't mean much to a pair of Bobcats.
Ohio's bench dominated Wright State's during the Bobcats' 64-59 win in Saturday's ESPNU BracketBusters matchup. Ohio held a 44-6 advantage in bench points.
All but two of the points came from junior guard Armon Bassett and junior forward DeVaughn Washington. Bassett scored a game-high 26 points and Washington added 16.
(Washington and Bassett) really imposed their will in the second half on both ends
coach John Groce said. Their energy level was contagious especially at the defensive end and that led to some good things on offense for us.
Bassett himself outscored all of Ohio's starters who scored 20 points combined.
Meanwhile, Washington answered Groce's challenge at halftime for the post players to get involved in the game. Washington scored 10 points in the second half and helped open things up for Bassett on the outside.
When I came in (the game)
I was just looking to liven it up a little for us
Washington said. We came out kind of stagnate
and I guess it's what I brought.
Washington played 33 minutes off the bench, which is the second-highest playing time for him this season. The junior forward played 37 minutes in Ohio's first loss to Akron this season on Jan. 13.
He was forced to play so many minutes because starting freshman Reggie Keely was in foul trouble early and often. Because of foul trouble, Keely played in the game for nine minutes.
Bassett found himself playing the point guard position more because D.J. Cooper also found himself with foul troubles. Cooper played 28 minutes but scored only five points and had more turnovers (4) than assists (3).
It was something I'm used to
Bassett said. Obviously
not my role on the team
but I'm going to do whatever the coach and the team need from me.
Defensive Might
The Bobcats had one of their better defensive performances Saturday.
Ohio held the Raiders to 31.7 percent field goal shooting for the game, including an abysmal 28.6 in the first half.
If it weren't for eight offensive rebounds in the first eight minutes of the game and 15 total, the game might not have gone to the wire.
The Bobcats did their best defensive work on Wright State's starting guards, Vaughn Duggins and Todd Brown. The two shot 9-of-32 from the floor, including 4-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Before the game, Brown averaged a 41.3 field goal percentage and Duggins averaged 47.6 percent.
I was concerned about both guys coming into the game
Groce said. Our guys did a good job of helping one another off the ball and hedging screens and had great awareness.
Limiting turnovers
Against a team that forces turnovers, Ohio held its own.
The Raiders forced teams to turn the ball over 15.9 times per game. The Bobcats limited their giveaways to 13.
For the season, Ohio ranks 34th nationally in turnover margin and 85th in assist-to-turnover margin with 1.07.
Today
we turn over against the team that forces it the sixth most (in the nation) 13 times the entire game
